Two more tour bus companies have been ordered shut down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; one for transporting passengers in the luggage compartment and the other for attempting to evade a previous out-of-service order by operating under another name.
Haines Tours of Gladwin, MI was hit with an immediate closure after a May 27 inspection that found six of 62 passengers were riding in the luggage compartment of the motorcoach traveling from Roscommon, MI to Clyde, OH. The coach, driven by company owner Roger Haines, was stopped randomly by an Ohio State Highway Patrol officer in Lake Township, OH. The six were surrounded by unsecured baggage, authorities found. The FMCSA deemed Haines Tours as an “imminent hazard.” Apparently, Haines did not learn from a similar incident last August when he was warned that transporting people in the luggage compartment is not only a highly dangerous practice, but also a violation of federal regulations.
Within 48 hours, the FMCSA shut down Atlanta-based JT’s Travel & Charter for operating under a different name after being issued an out-of-service order. The action follows an FMCSA out-of-service order issued on June 3 to Charlotte, NC-based Sky Express, who attempted a day later to do business as both 108 Tours and 108 Bus. A Sky Express bus was involved in a crash in Virginia that killed four and injured 53 others in May. The driver of that bus has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly falling asleep at the wheel.
For more, visit www.fmcsa.dot.gov.